Packaging and display box

ABSTRACT

A packaging and display box ( 1 ). The box ( 1 ) has a base ( 2 ) with a retaining wall ( 4 ) adjacent a section of its perimeter. The wall is for retaining a primary package. The box has a lid ( 3 ) which extends between two portions of the base. The lid ( 3 ) covers at least a part of the primary package. The lid ( 3 ) is attached to the retaining perimeter wall such that removal of the lid from the package causes detachment of the perimeter wall from the base.

The present invention relates to packaging and displaying box.

Packaging boxes are extremely commonplace. One of the main purposes ofpackaging boxes (by which it is intended to refer to secondary packagingboxes) is to accommodate primary packages containing a consumer product.The secondary packaging boxes provided an easy way of holding/protectingmultiple primary packages between the point of manufacture and the pointof retail to a consumer. The secondary packaging boxes may be used on,for example, a supermarket/shop shelf as a retention/display aid for aproduct.

Normally the secondary packaging boxes have a simple construction andcomprise a sheet of folded card or cardboard. The sheet is assembledinto the desired shape (by folding) before being filled with the primarypackages.

The boxes typically comprise a base having a peripheral wall and aremovable lid. When the lid is removed the peripheral wall is highenough to retain the primary packages and to allow the secondary packageto be moved without loss of its contents, yet the peripheral wall is lowenough for a consumer to see the primary packages contained in thesecondary packaging and to remove them therefrom.

Whilst the peripheral wall is a useful retention aid its presence isalso disadvantageous, as clearly a portion of the primary package isobscured by the peripheral wall when present in the secondary packaging.

This can be particularly detrimental as an important part of the primarypackage can be obscured. The obscured part of the primary package may,for example, comprise an significant warning for a consumer or abeneficial notice such as ‘money-off’ indication.

To compound this issue there is ever increasing pressure onmanufacturers to make their primary packaging ever more appealing/eyecatching to a consumer whilst at the same time complying with changingsafety legislation. Normally it is not possible to have a ‘blank’ partof a primary package which can be obscured by a retaining wall.

Additionally secondary packaging may vary from country to country,meaning that for a product sold in more than one jurisdiction theprimary package would have to be altered to take into account localvariations in the secondary packaging.

Whilst manufacturers are aware that the presence of this peripheral wallis problematic, this issue cannot easily be addressed.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate/mitigate the issuesoutlined above.

According to the present invention there is provided a packaging anddisplay box, the box having a base with a retaining wall adjacent asection of its perimeter for retaining a primary package and a lid whichextends between two portions of the base, the lid covering at least apart of the primary package, wherein the lid is attached to theretaining perimeter wall such that removal of the lid from the packagecauses detachment of the perimeter wall from the base.

It has been found that the packaging and display box of the presentinvention has excellent properties.

Firstly as the retaining wall is removed with the removal of the lid,the packaging and display box, in use, allows clear display of theentire surface of a primary package contained therein. Thus no labellingor graphics printed on the surface are obscured by the retaining wall.This makes a selection of the primary package by a consumer lessambiguous and more safe.

Secondly as the retaining wall is removed in a single operation with thelid there is no need for a second step to remove the retaining wall.This removes the need for a potentially dangerous cutting/tearingoperation performed on the perimeter wall. Additionally this removes thepotential for damage caused to the primary packaging in such a secondaryremoval step.

Preferably the perimeter wall removed from the base is disposed along anedge of the base which is intended to face a consumer, when the box isplaced on, for example, a supermarket shelf. Removal of this wallimproves visibility of the primary packaging in the box.

The base preferably has an additional retained perimeter wall extendingaround the remainder of the perimeter of the base. By remainder it willbe clearly understood that the term remainder is intended to refer tothe less prominent sides/faces of the displaying box, i.e. thosesides/faces which are not intended to be viewed directly by a consumerwhen the displaying box is placed in a display position. The additionalretaining wall is not intended to be removed on removal of the lid; itis intended to remain in place and provide a retention function for thebox.

Generally the base of the box is formed from a sheet of material such asa sheet of card, thickened paper or cardboard.

Usually the perimeter wall is formed by folding the edge of the sheetinwards.

The removable perimeter wall is preferably formed by folding as above.To facilitate removal of the removable perimeter wall the fold betweenthe wall and the base is preferably weakened. Preferred methods ofweakening inscoring and cutting along the fold. Most preferably the foldbetween the base and the removable perimeter wall is cut along themajority of its length for ease of removal. To ensure that the removableperimeter wall adheres to the base before removal a portion of the fold,preferably adjacent the terminii of the fold remains in place.

The removable perimeter wall is attached to the lid. The attachment maybe direct, i.e. a portion of the wall may be attached to a portion ofthe lid. Alternatively the attachment may be indirect, i.e. one or moreof the removable perimeter wall and/or the lid has an appendage (e.g.such as a flap) which can be used for attachment. Most preferably theremovable perimeter wall has a flap for this purpose. The flap may beadhered to the lid by gluing (with an adhesive) or may be physicallybonded to the lid, e.g. by retention of the flat in a receiving apertureof the lid. Most preferably the flap is glued to the lid.

Generally the flap from the removable peripheral wall extends from anedge of the wall. Most preferably the flap extends from a side edge, sothat the flap may be folded about a vertical fold towards the box.Normally the removable peripheral wall comprises two flaps, with onedisposed at each side edge.

It is preferred that the lid extends along the length of the box tooffer protection for the primary packages in the box. Preferably the lidcomprises a sheet of folded material, e.g. card as above. Generally thelid is in the form of a plane with a pair of dependent curtains (formedby folding, running along opposite edges of the plane). The lower edgesof the curtains are intended to extend such that they are adjacent tothe retained peripheral walls of the box, thus covering the primarypackages.

The curtains are preferably attached to the box at/by the flaps of theremovable peripheral wall, as described above.

Generally the packaging and displaying box of the present invention isintended to be used to hold primary packages in the form of rectangularboxes. Clearly the boxes may be used to hold a variety of consumerproducts. One preferred product is a detergent, in the form of, forexample, a powder, tablet or soluble capsules.

In use the packaging and displaying box is placed in the desired locusand the lid is gripped and removed in a pulling action. In removing thelid the removable perimeter wall is separated from the base of the boxand the contents of the box (the primary packages) become clearlyvisible.

The invention will now be described by reference to the following nonlimiting figures, in which:

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are plan views of a sheet of material used to form thebase and lid of a box of the present invention:

FIGS. 2 to 4 are perspective views of a partially assembled/fullyassembled box of the present invention.

From FIGS 1 a and 1 b can be seen that the box 1 comprises a basesection 2 and a hood 3.

The base section 2 is formed from a sheet of material (e.g. cardboard)the base section 2 has a removal retaining wall 4 created by foldingabout a line 5. Line 5 is then cut along the majority of its lengthleaving two attachment points 6 a and 6 b. The retaining wall 4 has twoedge flaps 7 a and 7 b for attachment to the hood 3.

A non-removable retaining wall 8 is created by folding about lines 9, 10and 11. The individual wall sections 8 a, 8 b and 8 c are retainedposition by being adjoined through flaps 12 a and 12 b.

The hood 3 is similarly formed from a sheet of material (e.g.cardboard).

The hood 3 comprises a planar section 13 and two dependent curtains 14 aand 14 b formed by folding along lines 15 a and 15 b respectively.

From FIGS. 2 to 4 it can be seen how the box 1 is assembled. In FIG. 2the hood 3 is offered to the base section 2, wherein the base section 2contains a plurality of primary packages 16.

In FIG. 3 the hood 3 is seated on the primary packages 16.

In FIG. 4 the removable retaining wall 4 is folded about line 5, theedge flaps 7 a and 7 b are folded inwards and adhered (e.g. by gluing)to the curtains 14 a and 14 b.

When the hood 3 is removed from the base section 2 the removableretaining wall 4 because of its attachment to the hood 3 is removedsimultaneously.

1. A packaging and display box, the box having a base with a retainingwall adjacent a section of its perimeter for retaining a primary packageand a lid which extends between two portions of the base, the lidcovering at least a part of the primary package, wherein the lid isattached to the retaining perimeter wall such that removal of the lidfrom the package causes detachment of the perimeter wall from the base.2. A packaging and display box according to claim 1, wherein theperimeter wall removed from the base is disposed along an edge of thebase which is intended to face a consumer, when the box is placed on,for example, a supermarket shelf.
 3. A packaging and display boxaccording to claim 1, wherein the base has an additional retainedperimeter wall extending around the remainder of the perimeter of thebase.
 4. A packaging and display box according to claim 1, wherein thebase of the box is formed from a sheet of material such as a sheet ofcard, thickened paper or cardboard.
 5. A packaging and display boxaccording to claim 4, wherein the perimeter wall is formed by foldingthe edge of the sheet inwards.
 6. A packaging and display box accordingto claim 5, wherein the fold between the removable perimeter wall andthe base is weakened.
 7. A packaging and display box according to claim6, wherein the weakening is by scoring and/or cutting along the fold. 8.A packaging and display box according to claim 1, wherein the removableperimeter wall is attached to the lid by a flap extending from the wall.9. A packaging and display box according to claim 8, wherein the flap isglued to the lid.
 10. A packaging and display box according to claim 1,wherein the box is intended to be used to hold primary packages in theform of rectangular boxes.
 11. (canceled)
 12. A packaging and displaybox according to claim 2, wherein the base has an additional retainedperimeter wall extending around the remainder of the perimeter of thebase.
 13. A packaging and display box according to claim 2 wherein thebase of the box is formed from a sheet of material such as a sheet ofcard, thickened paper or cardboard.
 14. A packaging and display boxaccording to claim 3 wherein the base of the box is formed from a sheetof material such as a sheet of card, thickened paper or cardboard.